Photos show the incredible history of the Soviet space program

Humanity's tentative forays into space have given us countless incredible images. Everything from the famed Blue Marble photos to the recent images from the Mars Rover have radically changed the way we see the world. But most of these photos have come from NASA and the English speakers of space — so what of the other side of the equation? Where are all the incredible photos from the Soviet side of the space race? A few of them were released in a pack in the 80s, and they're every bit as compelling as the American ones.

While in orbit, Farkas conducted experiments in material science, and on his return was awarded the title "Hero of the Soviet Union."

Although, the images are less the breathtaking views of the cosmos that we've become accustomed to, they're still an intriguing look at the human face of space flight. You can see more of the images over at io9, where they were posted originally.

The two Hungarian candidates for the voyage: Bertalan Farkas (l) and Bela Magyari (r)